Imported Recycled PET and Domestic Market Strain: A Turning Point for US Recycling

The US recycled PET (polyethylene terephthalate, universally recognized by the #1 inside the triangle) plastic market is facing what industry experts are calling a “perfect storm” — where rising imports of recycled PET, muted demand, tariff uncertainty, and economic headwinds are converging to challenge the domestic recycling infrastructure.

Amid this challenging environment, NAPCOR is underscoring the need for policy action to strengthen recycled-content markets and protect domestic capacity.

Domestic Reclaimers Under Pressure

Alasdair Carmichael, NAPCOR’s Program Director, offered one of the most striking assessments of the market’s health in Packaging Dive’s January 2026 analysis. He noted that 2025 saw an unprecedented number of PET reclaimers close, with four facilities shutting down in a single year.

“There are only about 30 plants, and if you have four of them close in a year, that is a big chunk. I think that in itself tells us that the business is not good, and a lot of that business is not good because of increased imports.” – Alasdair Carmichael, NAPCOR Program Director, Packaging Dive 

Carmichael’s comments shine a spotlight on a critical industry trend: domestic PET recycling infrastructure is shrinking at a time when stable supply and processing capacity are needed most.

Why Imports Matter

The Packaging Dive piece highlights that volumes of imported post-consumer recycled resin have climbed steadily, with imports of PET and recycled PET continuing to rise in 2024 and 2025. These imports into the US market are often cheaper, and while they have helped meet demand, they have had a disproportionate negative impact on domestic producers, particularly for recycled feedstocks. While imported material can play a role in supply chains, a lack of transparency into origin and quality may also undermine domestic processors’ competitiveness.

Carmichael also noted another trend: international export capacity has grown, particularly in Asia, with new facilities meeting US and European food-contact standards, often designed primarily for export markets.

“Those are not requirements that are needed in their own countries, so it’s a very key indicator that export was a primary, if not the primary, part of the business plan.” – Alasdair Carmichael, NAPCOR Program Director, Packaging Dive

Increased trade of recycled materials undermines circularity in both the exporting region as well as the destination, and undermines the sustainability benefits of recycling. For example, exporting recycled PET from Asia to the US means that circular PET feedstock is no longer available in the place where it was collected, resulting in continued reliance on virgin materials there. In the US, the imported material puts domestic recycled PET at a competitive disadvantage and displaces it, potentially resulting in collected PET being landfilled or entering the environment. Finally, the environmental savings associated with the use of recycled PET (such as a 59 percent lower carbon footprint for recycled PET produced in the US compared to virgin PET) are inevitably eroded by shipping over great distances, which is contrary to the inherent sustainability value in recycling PET.

Beyond Market Forces

In the Packaging Dive article, Carmichael and other industry leaders recognize that market forces alone are not enough to reverse the current trend. For example, increases in post-consumer recycled content requirements for beverage containers in states like Washington, Maine, and Connecticut are “mildly encouraging,” but without stronger incentives to use domestic recycled PET, those laws alone might lead to even greater import volumes over time.

To counter these trends, NAPCOR encourages legislators to reinforce domestic material flows and demand for domestic recycled content through the following policy levers:

• Setting mandatory post-consumer recycled content targets to create stable, predictable demand for domestic recycled PET.
• Prioritizing domestic PET feedstocks to ensure recycled material captured in North America stays in North America.
• Requiring traceability and transparency through robust chain-of-custody documentation, third-party verification, and clear labeling to ensure material origin and quality are known and trustworthy.
• Holding importers to the same quality, safety, environmental, and labor standards as domestic operators, leveling the playing field, and strengthening the overall system.

The Bottom Line

The US recycled PET market finds itself at a crossroads: domestic recycling infrastructure is eroding, with policies and commercial commitments lagging behind the scale and pace needed to signal long-term demand for domestic recycled content. The need to align policy frameworks with industry realities to strengthen onshore capacity, ensure stable demand, and build trust in recycled materials has never been more urgent.

Read the full Packaging Dive article here: https://www.packagingdive.com/news/postconsumer-recycled-content-domestic-market/810444/